The Maize at Sauvie Island

The Autumn season is upon us and for my family that means our annual visit to to Portland’s original cornfield maze located on Sauvie Island. As the seasons starts changing and that chill in air arrives my kids have without prompting have asked when we’d be heading out there! We’ve visited The Maize and Pumpkin Patch in Portland, Oregon for three years in a row now. I for one am thrilled that this Fall tradition has stuck and that both the kids love visiting so much. Wonderful adventure and fun memories have been made and had at every visit!

This year the cornfield maze celebrates it’s 17th season! The maze design changes up every time and this year the theme is “Dream Big” with the design of a happy child thrilled to find one of The Pumpkin Patch’s giant pumpkins in the field. The twist and turns overall make up about two miles in the five acre cornfield! From start to finish, it took my family about an hour to get through. This however was a on dry sunny day. Results may vary depending on if it’s raining or if the paths are muddy. Planning accordingly will better your visit! I suggest wearing boots and bringing your rain coat if it’s looking overcast.

Visitors don’t have to go trekking through the Maize blindly. There are passports for all ages that have trivia questions to help guide you. You answer each question at a numbered check point in the maze. If you answer correctly you’ll be told which path to take next and if you don’t you may be heading around in circles for awhile. Now, you don’t have to use the passports at all but I think they add to the experience. The friendly staff has always been more than happy to walk us through how these work.

While exploring the Maize, there are fun CORNundrums to read and if you can locate them all, you enter a grand prize drawing at the Maize exit (you can enter even if you don’t find them all). There are a couple of bridges in the maze in which you can see for miles.

There are actually two parts of the maze. Once you get through the first section, you are brought back to the ticket and refreshment area in which can rest and have a snack before going into the second more challenging path!

Aside from the Maize, there’s much more to experience here. There’s the Big Red Animal Barn full of chickens, peacocks, a sheep, a goat, a cow and more. My kids particularly loved visiting the chickens since we have a flock of our own at home. There’s a giant hay climbing pyramids that’s great for photos and fun! During the weekends there’s a cow train to ride and free hayrides to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins! There was even an area where hay was being baled into mini sizes!

Be sure to visit the gift shop, farm fresh market, and there are food vendors during the weekend. There are many decorative gourds, pumpkins, and flowers to bring home for yourself or share with someone you know. I found the pricing of everything to be quite affordable. We love the Maize at Sauvie Island and will continue to come back every year. We are always excited to share about how nice it is out there. It’s great fun for the whole family.